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Post by Leda on Feb 5, 2009 22:58:08 GMT -5
... Okay, that was just WAY too cute. Phoebe couldn't contain a short squeal when Dash began to kick. As sweet as this tenrec was, she'd nearly forgotten in just the short time that he was born feral. A quick trip to the kitchen to retreive drinks later, the tap of a small glass of orange juice gently coming to a rest on the floor nearby drifted into Dash's ear. Taking a seat at the table, the florist was then able to enjoy her own meal. ... Well, maybe 'enjoy' was stretching it. For now she seemed content to simply push it around the plate. Honestly, it didn't even look like a fish fillet.
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Post by DB on Feb 5, 2009 23:21:32 GMT -5
As soon as the drink arrived, Dash took a sizable sip from it. He wasn't just hungry, but thirsty, and more importantly, his food had a bit of a funny aftertaste that he was glad to be able to wash away. Still, despite the taste of the food, it really was better than the kibble and he suspected it'd serve it's purpose of fighting off the hunger well enough. So for that alone he continued to eat, intermediately taking sips from the orange juice between bites of his 'seafood platter', carefully trying to balance the two out so that his meal would end with the orange juice instead of the ... 'real chunks of shrimp and tuna'. ... Which he still couldn't pinpoint. More on that line of thought, he was horrified to think that this seemed to suggest that there were 'seafood platters' out there that had fake shrimp and tuna. If this tasted this bad, how bad would those taste?
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Post by Leda on Feb 5, 2009 23:29:33 GMT -5
"Guh..." Phoebe groaned over her meal. She certainly wouldn't be buying this one again. The 'salmon' (she wasn't even sure that was truthfully what it was) was dry and salty, the potato slices chalky, and the beans rubbery. However, given how tight the finances were, she couldn't afford to toss it out and make something else. Like Dash, she'd have to take it purely for the nourishment purposes. "So," she began, hoping for a distraction from the awful taste, "how about after dinner I show you around? Or you could play with your new toys or something, if you've had enough of my hovering," the overlander added with a chuckle.
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Post by DB on Feb 5, 2009 23:33:20 GMT -5
"I didn't really get to look around mush, so..." Dash let the statement hang, prodding his food as he spoke. He imagined that with each jab that the food magically became more palatable. The next bite of it basically laughed at him for being delusional. Time to not think about what he was eating. "... whatsh with all the toysh though?"
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Post by Leda on Feb 5, 2009 23:36:42 GMT -5
@pheobe@ The human shrugged. "I didn't know what would be the most appealing, so I tried to get one or two of each type." Clearly not enjoying the bite of food she'd just taken, Phoebe paused for a drink of her soda before continuing. "Anyway, I still have the receipts, so we can take back the ones you don't like, if they'll still let me."
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Post by DB on Feb 5, 2009 23:38:20 GMT -5
"... I'm kinda... too old for toysh."
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Post by Leda on Feb 5, 2009 23:40:12 GMT -5
"Too old?" Phoebe echoed, arching a surprised eyebrow. "What's wrong with toys?"
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Post by DB on Feb 5, 2009 23:41:34 GMT -5
"... I'm not eashily amused?"
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Post by Leda on Feb 5, 2009 23:45:28 GMT -5
Phoebe wrinkled her nose slightly. "I think you should at least check them out first," she eventually answered, cutting a potato in half (yet not immediately putting it into her mouth). "It's not going to kill you to try them out."
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Post by DB on Feb 5, 2009 23:52:01 GMT -5
"... I guessh not." Still, he frowned. Did she honestly think he'd like toys made for kids? With genuine surprise, he discovered that his bowl was now empty. Had he actually managed to eat all of that without throwing up? The empty bowl said yes. At least he wasn't hungry anymore. Pushing the bowl away, he went back to observing his surroundings. The wallpaper, the wall hangings, the furniture style, the potted plants...
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Post by Leda on Feb 5, 2009 23:57:42 GMT -5
Meanwhile, it looked like Phoebe would take some time to catch up. Apparently not having lived on kibble alone anytime recently made her more apt to reject unpleasant food. Not that her diet lately had been that great anyway, but honestly, this was bad. She could last until morning on what she'd already gotten down. "Okay, Dash, time for some ground rules," she announced while rising from her seat. "Would you grab your dishes and follow me to the kitchen?"
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Post by DB on Feb 6, 2009 0:03:56 GMT -5
Ah. Ground rules. Here it comes- what kind of unfair demands would she ask of him? To scrub her house clean with a toothbrush? Daily? At least, that's what he expected after Duke. Quietly placing his glass in his bowl, he carried the two items to the kitchen, dutifully following the overlander, though concerned over what would come next.
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Post by Leda on Feb 6, 2009 0:10:01 GMT -5
By the time he got there, Phoebe had disappeared into the pantry, digging through the narrow space for what turned out to be Dash's old buddy: a small step stool. "Here we go!" she announced triumphantly, closing the door behind her. "I got this a while ago, but it ended up buried since it wasn't needed yet." The overlander took the tenrec's dishes from his hands and strode to the sink. "Now, I don't expect you to do any of this today, since you're still adjusting, but I did want to let you know what your jobs here will be. I'd rather not surprise you with it, anyway." Phoebe carefully set his dishes in the metal inlet with her own, then brought the stool to a rest nearby. It would probably be a surprise to him, however, that she never ordered him onto it. Instead, the florist simply began to run the water and dabbed a sponge with soap.
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Post by DB on Feb 6, 2009 0:13:33 GMT -5
Ordered to or not, he still climbed onto the stool. Better to do it without asking then be yelled at and smacked with a riding crop. Not that he thought Phoebe had a riding crop, but still. "So what do I do?"8
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Post by Leda on Feb 6, 2009 0:17:15 GMT -5
"Mostly, I'd just like you to keep the house tidy. It'll be especially important now, since I'm going to need to take a few extra hours at work to help support you. I won't have as much time to do things myself." As the dishes were cleaned of their leftovers, Phoebe began to pile them in the neighboring side of the sink to dry off momentarily. "Just stuff like the dishes here, and vacuuming, and laundry... Probably won't take up THAT much time if you keep on top of it. Some things I doubt even need to be done every single day." The overlander grinned then, and blew a palmful of soap suds at her beast. "Of course, if you decided to go above and beyond on your own, that'd be nice too. And would probably warrant a treat of some sort~"
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Post by DB on Feb 6, 2009 0:25:01 GMT -5
Well, that sounded reasonable, really. Certainly didn't sound like anything he couldn't manage. "I can do th-" SURPRISE SUDS TO THE FACE. Which, of course, were not expected, which, of course, made him jump. And jumping on a stool wasn't always the greatest idea, as he, as expected, slipped off the stool. Of course, he wasn't going down alone, as purely by reflex he grabbed to the nearest thing he could to keep from going down. Which turned out to he be Phoebe. Whoopsie.
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Post by Leda on Feb 6, 2009 0:28:31 GMT -5
It was startling for a second, and the human yelped and recoiled accordingly. However, once it was all over, Phoebe laughed and gently picked the tenrec up beneath the arms. "I'm sorry," she giggled, carefully placing him on his feet atop the stool again. "I didn't mean to startle ya. Are you okay?" And once again, her hand found its way to his ear. She apparently was fond of scratching him there.
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Post by DB on Feb 7, 2009 16:47:13 GMT -5
Apparently the tenrec was just as fond of receiving the scritches as she was giving them- a good combination indeed. Unintentionally, he leaned forward, subconciously hoping for more. "Yeah, 'm fine."
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Post by Leda on Feb 7, 2009 16:54:09 GMT -5
Phoebe smirked as she noted the added weight to her hand. And to think he was pulling away from me an hour ago. When she finally let go (slowly, so that he wouldn't take a second dive), the overlander returned her attention to the last dish awaiting her assistance. "Housework aside, the only other rules are to keep off the furniture, and stay in the fence if you go outside. Once I get you a better collar, we'll see about getting you oriented with the neighborhood, okay?"
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Post by DB on Feb 7, 2009 22:17:17 GMT -5
"... A better collar?"
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Post by Leda on Feb 7, 2009 22:20:42 GMT -5
The dishes now cleaned, Phoebe moved to Dash's other side and toweled them off one by one. "Well, more specifically you need tags. If you ever get lost, the tag on your collar will tell anyone that finds you where you live, and then you can get back home. But I would like to get you a different collar, too, if we find one we like. Plain black is a little boring."
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Post by DB on Feb 7, 2009 22:24:40 GMT -5
"... back home, huh?" He doubted that. Maybe back here, but not home.
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Post by Leda on Feb 7, 2009 22:33:19 GMT -5
In just a moment or two the cleaning was finished, and the overlander dried her hands. "Anyway, that's basically it. But if you have any other questions, just ask me and we'll play it by ear." Turning to her tenrec, Phoebe grinned and scooped him up into her arms. "So!" she began, planting him on her hip. "Did you want to look around, or check out those toys?" The human chuckled and petted Dash's forehead, carrying him through the doorway. "Or if you've had enough, we can just sit around and do nothing."
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Post by DB on Feb 8, 2009 23:02:29 GMT -5
... picking the tenrec up probably wasn't the best idea in the world. Sure, he'd been 'domesticated' or whatever it is they wanted to call it, but he wasn't used to being picked up and carted around. Especially not by someone twice his size. Eyes widening and spines bristling almost comically, he began to flail. " LETGOLETGOLETGO"
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Post by Leda on Feb 8, 2009 23:24:46 GMT -5
More out of reflex than anything else, Phoebe did as commanded -- that is, she literally whipped her arms back and let go of him, sending him plummeting to the floor. A second or so later when she'd realized what she'd just done, the overlander knelt as his side. "Are you okay?? What's wrong?!"
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Post by DB on Feb 16, 2009 20:59:14 GMT -5
WHUMP!Well, at least he was down now. With a sore rump, but down. Rising to his feet and rubbing said rump, he gave Phoebe a bewildered look. "Why did you do that?!"
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Post by Leda on Feb 16, 2009 21:00:59 GMT -5
Cue looking equally bewildered. "You asked me to!!"
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Post by DB on Feb 16, 2009 21:01:59 GMT -5
"I mean picking me up like that! Without any warning!"
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Post by Leda on Feb 16, 2009 21:05:03 GMT -5
"...." Phoebe frowned. Actually, her expression looked a little... wounded. "I just... thought it would be nice... I guess..." The florist rose to her feet and focused her attention on her hands. Getting used to a beast that didn't want physical contact was going to be very difficult. "Um... anyway, your toys," she said with forced enthusiasm, walking ahead down the stairs to the living room.
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Post by DB on Feb 16, 2009 21:08:13 GMT -5
The expression was noted. And it actually made him feel bad. Which in turn made struggle to defend himself. "I- I mean what if someone just picked you up?? Someone who was a whole lot bigger than you and... and..."
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